Score one for the little guys. After an anemic offensive first half, Bishop Connolly, of the Mayflower league, scored 28 consecutive points in the second half to overcome a six-point deficit and defeat Big 3 representative Durfee 28-19 in the first-ever football meeting between the schools.

After an anemic offensive first half, Bishop Connolly, of the Mayflower league, scored 28 consecutive points in the second half to overcome a six-point deficit and defeat Big 3 representative Durfee 28-19 in the first-ever football meeting between the schools.

The visiting Cougars managed 15 yards of total offense in the first 20 minutes, while Durfee running back Brian DeMello alone had 86 rushing yards on 11 carries during that time.

Durfee (0-1) raced out to a 13-0 lead and appeared to take control, with the Hilltopper defense keeping the Cougars in check. Bishop Connolly (1-0) had one first down in the opening half.

“Defensively, I thought we did a great job,” said Durfee coach LaJhon Jones. “We had them right where we wanted them early. We had them on the ropes and we have to learn how to put teams away.”

The first-half turning point came when Chris Silvia broke free and blocked a punt deep in Durfee territory. Drew Keyes pounced on the ball at the Hilltoppers 2, setting up first and goal early in the second quarter with the Cougars trailing 13-0.

After three straight running plays that gained the Cougars zero yards, quarterback Brian Quinn got the visitors on the board with a 2-yard keeper with 6:32 left in the half.

Silvia’s extra point kick made it 13-7.

“Getting in there, I think, changed the whole game,” said Bishop Connolly coach Justin Kogler. “(Quinn) made the right decision and executed the play.”

Despite netting 15 first-half yards, Kogler said he was happy his team was down just six at the break.

“When you run the type of offense we run, sometimes it takes a while to find out what the defense is doing. We made some adjustments in the second half.”

The Cougars got the ball to open the second half and put together a 13-play drive that covered 95 yards and resulted in a Quinn-to-Mike Sullivan 9-yard touchdown pass with 3;21 to go in the third quarter.

Silvia’s boot gave the Cougars a 14-13 lead.

Durfee’s next three possessions ended via interception, including the ensuing one when Keyes deflected an Oliver pass into his own arms at the line of scrimmage and raced 21 yards for the score that helped put Bishop Connolly in front 21-13.

“I just did my assignments, stayed in the gap and that led me to the play,” Keyes said.

“Drew is an instinctive player,” Kogler said. “He probably has the best hands on the team. That play was probably the turning point in the game.”

After the Hilltoppers marched into Cougar territory to the 32 on the next series, Quinn picked off another Oliver pass, which led to another scoring drive.

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Eight plays later, aided by a 44-yard Silvia run and a 15-yard horsecollar penalty on the Toppers, Quinn scored on a 4-yard run to extend the lead to 28-13.

Mitch Walsh then picked off another Durfee ball after the Toppers got to the Cougar 17-yard line.

DeMello scored on a 4-yard run with 1:16 left to account for the final score.

DeMello was a bright spot for Durfee, finishing with 146 yards on 20 carries. He had two touchdowns.

Colby Cabral also hauled in a 37-yard touchdown pass from Oliver in the first quarter to give the Toppers the 13-0 lead.